In the undulating hills of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, within Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate region, a contemporary pilgrimage route traces the life and resonance of a singular medieval figure. Winding through ancient forests, terraced vineyards, and villages seemingly suspended in time, the Hildegard von Bingen Pilgerwanderweg—known in English as the Hildegard Way—offers more than scenic walking. It invites a different kind of attention: to the land, to the senses, to the unseen.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) remains one of the most compelling polymaths of the European Middle Ages. A writer, composer, healer, and visionary, her work defied categorization and her worldview rejected the binaries of body and soul, science and spirit, intellect and imagination. In 2012, she was recognized as a Doctor of the Church—an ecclesiastical title not necessary to appreciate the cultural and historical impact of her legacy, which continues to attract pilgrims, scholars, and seekers from across the world.
Created in 2013 with support from the European Union and developed by the Scivias Institut—named after Hildegard’s first visionary work—the 137-kilometer Hildegard Way links key locations from her life. It begins in the quiet village of Niederhosenbach, believed to be her birthplace, and ends at the Benedictine abbey she founded in Eibingen, overlooking the Rhine. Along the way, the route encourages reflection on a life shaped by inquiry, resilience, and a radical engagement with the world.
A Route of Resonance
Rather than a traditional pilgrimage centered on relics or sanctuaries, the Hildegard Way offers a thematic journey through landscape and memory. Forty stages mark the route: 27 meditation panels inspired by Liber Scivias, and 31 interpretive displays offering insights into Hildegard’s contributions to medicine, music, ethics, and cosmology.
But the terrain itself becomes part of the experience. Walkers move through dense woodland, traverse sunlit ridges, and pass the ruins of monasteries and Romanesque churches where Hildegard once composed and taught. Some sections echo with the music she wrote; others open into herb gardens inspired by her pharmacological texts or overlook vineyards producing Riesling, the region’s renowned white wine.
Sites Along the Hildegard Way
Each key location along the route corresponds not only to a geographic place but to a formative moment in Hildegard’s life. The journey is layered with both biography and atmosphere, inviting engagement with the symbolic landscape as much as the historical one.
- Niederhosenbach – Origins and Silence
Set in the gentle Nahe Valley, this small village is widely accepted as Hildegard’s birthplace. Its placement at the beginning of the trail serves not only a biographical purpose but marks a symbolic emergence—from obscurity into vision.
- Sponheim – Instruction and Preparation
At age eight, Hildegard was entrusted to the care of Jutta von Sponheim, a reclusive noblewoman living beside the church at Disibodenberg. The site evokes the themes of formation, discipline, and inward listening that would shape Hildegard’s early years.
- Disibodenberg – Vision and Vocation
For nearly four decades, Hildegard lived in the hilltop monastery of Disibodenberg, where the rivers Glan and Nahe converge. Today its ruins remain evocative—a place where silence retains weight and where Hildegard first articulated her prophetic voice.
- Bingen and Rüdesheim – Creation and Autonomy
In 1150, Hildegard founded a convent at Rupertsberg, near Bingen. There, she completed major works and asserted her independence as a leader and intellectual. Across the river in Eibingen, she later established a second monastery, expanding her influence.
- Eibingen Abbey – Continuity and Celebration
The present-day Benedictine Abbey of St. Hildegard stands above Rüdesheim. Its community maintains elements of Hildegard’s legacy through music, scholarship, and ecological stewardship. On September 17—her feast day—the site draws thousands for cultural and spiritual commemorations.
Pilgrimage in Practice
While rich in meaning, the Hildegard Way is also accessible and well-maintained. It can be walked in an organized retreat format or independently, depending on interest and availability.
Distance and Duration: The full route spans approximately 137 kilometers from Idar-Oberstein to Rüdesheim-Eibingen and can be completed in 10 to 12 days at a moderate pace.
Signage and Navigation: The path is clearly marked with its own iconography. Printed guides and digital maps are available; GPS can enhance navigation for solo walkers.
Accommodation and Services: Towns like Bad Kreuznach offer a range of lodging and dining options, while smaller villages include retreat centers and guesthouses with a reflective or rural focus.
Best Season: May through October offers optimal weather. Mid-September, particularly around the 17th, coincides with events in Eibingen that blend cultural and spiritual interest.
Conclusion: A Path of Attention
Walking the Hildegard Way is less about arrival than attentiveness. The path encourages a slower rhythm and invites participants to dwell in observation—of landscape, of memory, and perhaps of themselves. The forests and valleys that once shaped a medieval visionary still speak, though quietly: in the hush of the trees, the sweep of the hills, or the echo of a chant rising from an ancient stone chapel.
As Hildegard once wrote:
“Like the clouds that rise, like the stream that flows, the soul’s longing never ceases.”
To follow her way, even for a few steps, is to listen for that current.
